


You're The Only One I Can't Lose

by AKUMA_jpg



Series: WWGINE story line [2]
Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE
Genre: Angst, Another HS AU, F/F, shuhua is whipped for soojin, soojin is angsty, tryna make this more angsty than WWGINE... if possible
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:21:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKUMA_jpg/pseuds/AKUMA_jpg
Summary: Seo Soojin. That was the girl that made Shuhua into a mumbling mess. There was just something about her that captivated Shuhua. Maybe it was her lips, round and plump, she couldn’t take her eyes off of them, maybe it was her laugh, soft and cute whenever she was looking at her phone, or maybe it was her aura, intimidating and mysterious.Maybe Soojin was just some pipedream that would never leave her head, she was completely fine with that considering she couldn’t even function within 3 feet of her. One could dream, right?
Relationships: Cho Miyeon/Minnie Nicha Yontararak, Jeon Soyeon/Song Yuqi, Seo Soojin/Yeh Shuhua
Series: WWGINE story line [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974556
Comments: 10
Kudos: 124





	1. Yeh Shuhua

The first snow in China is always the most special. The white speckles floating down, melting onto the cold surface of the worn Taiwanese streets. A country known for beef noodles and computers, Mark Yeh made a name for himself. Being born into the complications of Chinese diplomacy, he was royalty. It was always his dream to raise a child of his own, a daughter. And on January 6th, in the middle of a rather dangerous snowstorm, he and his guards rushed to the hospital with his very pregnant wife. 

  


Holding her hand through her tricky procedure, she made it. Yeh Shuhua, 3.5 kg, his daughter was born. And much like the deep snows that rained down outside the windows, her skin was very similar. Shuhua’s palely complexion scared him a bit. Was this normal? Needless to say, she was very beautiful, like her mother. Mark tried his best to raise Shuhua right, she was bright just like him, always a ball of energy. 

  


Her mother had become sick more often, something in her hereditary genes made it complicated for her to go outside. He and Shuhua tried their best to lighten her up, visiting her in the hospital after school, Shuhua prepared jokes for her every day. 

  


_ “Mommy, why did the chicken cross the road?” _

  


_ “I don’t know? Why did they, Shu?” _ She was sitting in her mother’s lap, getting her hair intricately braided. 

  


_ “Hmmm, I forgot. But it was supposed to be funny!” _ She laughed to herself, making her mom smile. 

  


She didn’t know the extent of her mother’s supposed illness, but she knew it wasn’t good. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that her mom wasn’t in the best conditions. Always bedridden and frail-looking, Shuhua remembers visiting her in the hospital more and more. 

  


They stayed like that for a while, until Shuhua was nearing the end of middle school and they relocated to South Korea. Her father was branching out, expanding the family’s empire-like business, and it also helped that there were better doctors there to treat her mother. 

  


She wasn’t sad, she was never really attached to the city of Taiwan. Shuhua never really had any friends. Being pretty, rich, and smart was a triple threat, no one tried to be friends with her because they all thought she was out of their league.

  


The only times where she got to interact with her classmates were during school fairs or practicing lines with her castmates before the big show. Anyone could tell Shuhua a face that was meant to end up on the big screens, with her eyes that held more than what was on the surface. She could tell a whole story with just her eyes. 

  


Unlike other girls her age that did ballet, dance, or even soccer, she begged her had to put her into acting lessons. Envying the princesses that got to act it all out dramatically on her screen. She wanted to be just like them, but better. That was the Yeh way, doing everything better. 

  


So her talent only grew, until she could recite famous monologues off the top of her head. Successfully snagging every lead role in her middle school drama club. Nevertheless, she still had little friends, instead, focusing all her steam power on honing her fine acting skills.

  


But she only needed a few people in her life. Her dad who was always so caring and funny, cheering her up whenever she was lonely, her mom reading to her or telling her stories about their royal heritage, and her best friend, Wang Wei, her dad’s personal guard. 

  


Wang Wei would always come to pick her up from school and they’d get ice cream together. He was a big man, about 6’5” and 194 pounds in weight but he was a sweetheart. Whenever her dad was away on business trips he’d watch her and they’d have little tea parties with her two poodles, Haku and Mata. The surface area of one of his hands was probably the size of Shuhua’s whole face and Wang Wei could and would completely obliterate anyone who tried to harm the Yeh family. He had chiseled features, was built like a really tall wreck it Ralph, and he would be accompanying the Yeh family on their relocation to Korea, Seoul to be exact. 

  


Did she know Korean before moving? Barely. Being a Yeh meant extensive access to some of the best education in the world, so she had a good tutor. Her speaking wasn’t necessarily bad, so to say, it was her accent that she needed to work on but she wasn’t worried in the slightest. She was just excited for a change of scenery, maybe that life in Korea would be like the life in dramas she spent hours watching. 

  


_ “Shuhua, are you excited to move?”  _ Her mother was packing her stuffed animals in a miniature suitcase and rolling it to the foot of the front door.

  


_ “I… guess?” _

  


Finally stepping foot in the new country, getting off their private jet, and into a chauffeured vehicle taking them to their new home. Korea was… different. The skies were the same dull gray color that she knew in Taiwan. The high rises all looked the same, expensive building that held important people, people like her dad. She didn’t really know what she expected. The faces walking on the street looked drained, sad, solemn even. Everyone looked so unpleasantly unhappy like they just wanted to go home. 

  


This wasn’t the supposed utopia she thought it was, nothing of the sort. Social standards in Korea were very taxing, ones that even pushed a large number of people to suicide. She would later find out that it wasn’t all smiles and sunshine here. 

  


Her mom seemed happy though, or maybe she sensed her daughter’s apprehension and wanted to cheer her up. 

  


_ “Shuhua-ya, do you like our new place? Isn’t it so nice?” _ She was looking out the large window of their new mansion, the view looking out into their massive backyard. 

  


_ “Yes, mama.” _ She replied dully, scrolling through her phone having already lost interest. 

  


_ “We should go school shopping tonight, your first day is tomorrow.” _ She turned and offered a light smile.

  


_ “Yes, mama.” _ _  
  
_

___

  


She tried to look at things from a different perspective. Straightening out her tie in the mirror. She would be starting her new life in Seoul at CUBE university. Quoted by her dad, “One of the best academies Korea had to offer”. Shuhua made a promise to herself that she’d try to make at least one friend. Then again, this was just orientation, she was sure she could snag at least one friend with her trademarked Yeh charm. 

  


CUBE was a big school, the school itself was huge. Multiple buildings with a built glass exterior gave the whole establishment a sea blue color, making it only look more expensive. Contrary to popular belief, the school was not shaped like a cube. She was sad her mom wasn’t able to join them but her dad was able to skip a few meetings in order to come. 

  


“Ah, Thomas!” He seemed to have already spotted a familiar face. 

  


This Thomas in question was a tall burly man, he had his black and grey hair slicked back and was wearing a tailored suit. What she assumed was his wife had her arms linked with him, she was a shorter woman wearing a Chanel pantsuit. But one thing specifically caught her eye about the couple, they had a daughter. Their daughter was a mix of both their heights, she had thick choppy bangs and looked just as nervous as her. 

  


Throwing caution into the wind, “Hi, I’m Yeh Shuhua!” 

  


“Uhh, h-hi.” Their fathers already engaging animatedly in conversation. “I’m Minnie.” 

  


And bam, she had a friend. Sticking together like glue her entire first year in Korea. She learned a few things about Minnie, they were both foreigners and were new to Korea. They blended very well when it came to their perspective personalities, Shuhua was energetic and studious and Minnie was more laid back and didn’t really care about school. 

  


She was satisfied with one friend, Minnie was her favorite, next to Wei of course. As her time in Korea grew longer, her mom didn’t seem to be getting any better. When things didn’t seem to be letting up, God threw Song Yuqi into her life, and quite brashly to be honest. 

  


Shuhua was on her way to chemistry when some random girl started speaking to her in her mother tongue.

  


_ “Hey you,” _ She had a Shanghai tilt in her accent.  _ “Hey!” _

  


“Y-yes?” She replied in Korean.

  


_ “You’re that girl from Taiwan, right?” _

  


_ “Yes, what’s it to you?” _ She didn’t like how bluntly this girl was talking to her and in the middle of her passing period too. 

  


_ “Hey, I just wanted to tell you your backpack’s been opened this entire time.” _

  


_ “Ehhhhh?”  _ She quickly turned around to zip it closed, not even taking the time to check if anything was missing. 

  


_ “You dropped this,”  _ It was her wallet, in the front was a picture of her and her mom during the Lunar new year. 

  


_ “Give it back!” _ She tried to snatch it out of her hands but the girl moved away too quickly.

  


_ “This is a pretty picture,” _ The girl continued to inspect it. 

  


Shuhua continued to try and get her picture back. That picture was one of her most treasured items, one of her favorite memories, and her eyes began to water in frustration as she made failed attempts to get it back. 

  


“Shu?” Minnie was watching the two, staring curiously since she didn’t know what they were saying in their mother tongue. 

  


“Hi, I’m Yuqi.” She let Shuua grab the wallet from her hands and shove it back into her backpack.

  


“Oh, I’m Minnie, one of Shuhua’s friends. Are you eating lunch with us?”

  


And before Shuhua could retract that offer, “Sure, I’d love to!” The Shanghai puppy linked arms with Minnie.

  


She hadn’t left them alone since. Shuhua was a bit hesitant to befriend Yuqi but the longer they were around each other, the more she realized they were alike in personality. Yuqi was just as energetic as her and was the only person who could match her hyper energy. When Shuhua couldn’t explain things in Korean, she’d share them with Yuqi in their natural language. And although she was annoying as hell sometimes, Yuqi was a good friend. She made her laugh when she was sad, calmed her down when she was angry, and she and Minnie would always hype her up whenever she was unsure about something. 

  


For the rest of the freshmen year, the three were inseparable. They would spend hours at each other’s houses to the point where their parents thought about them just living together to save time. They were a loud bunch, Yuqi and Shuhua always screaming about some kpop debut when Minnie would yell at them to calm down. 

  


Her school life was seemingly living up to her expectations, she had a perfect balance between social interaction and academics. Life was good. Until Sophmore year, of course. 

  


Sophomore year was truly a hurdle sent from hell. Not only were the classes harder but the people got hotter. Now Shuhua had always known she liked girls and being at CUBE, where all the girls looked like literal goddesses, did not help her hormones. Apart from drowning in piles of homework, someone had caught her eye. 

  


A girl, well no shit, who was in fact, very pretty. Like so pretty it physically hurt her heart whenever she looked at her. Every time Shuhua would look her way in class she’d feel this burning sensation in her chest and her throat would close up. 

  


_ “Shuhua… Yeh Shuhua!” _ Her teacher interrupted her stare. 

  


“Uhh, y-yes?” Oh god, she hoped she wasn’t caught gawking at the utter beauty sitting before her. How come her years of acting experience couldn’t help conceal  _ one _ stupid crush? Was she really just another useless gay?

  


“Can you please answer the next question?”

  


“Yes… right away.” Well, so much for that. 

  


Shuhua was by no means unattractive, no. She had the fairest skin, a porcelain-like complexion that made her look otherworldly, she had a nice figure, and eyes that pierced through even the toughest facades. Many different people have tried to confess to her throughout her first year, but she turned every single one down, politely. She held confidence in herself, but whenever she saw that girl she turned into a blushing mess. It’s not like they ever talked or anything, Shuhua would simply just look at her.

  


The girl in question had a cute little mole under her left eye and the prettiest eyes and if those eyes ever looked back at her, she was dead meat. 

  


Seo Soojin. That was the girl that made Shuhua into a mumbling mess. There was just something about her that captivated Shuhua. Maybe it was her lips, round and plump, she couldn’t take her eyes off of them, maybe it was her laugh, soft and cute whenever she was looking at her phone, or maybe it was her aura, intimidating and mysterious. Soojin was obviously a popular girl, she hung out with the upperclassmen and often disobeyed the dress code, wearing something new or expensive in its place. Shuhua would sometimes see Soojin eating lunch with the school’s most popular couple, Dawn and HyunAh. 

  


It was safe to say that she felt like such a nobody. Well, one wouldn’t really refer to her as a nobody, quite the opposite actually. No matter what was happening at school, who was dating who, Shuhua always managed to be the topic of discussion. Whether the conversation was about the new Prada bag she was wearing to who was planning on asking her out, most likely just to get rejected. 

  


Maybe Soojin was just some pipedream that would never leave her head, she was completely fine with that considering she couldn’t even function within 3 feet of her.

  


“Um, excuse me.” Someone tapped on her shoulder. “You left your locker open.”

  


Turning around, only to be met with the sight of Soojin. She had her tie partially undone, lipstick red as blood, and backpack slung over one shoulder. 

  


“Huh?” She was dumbstruck.

  


“I said, your locker is still open.” She pointed behind her, gesturing to her green locker that’s door was opened a crack. 

  


_ Yeh Shuhua, you idiot! _ “T-thank you,” She ran back to slam it shut before nearly running to her next class, trying to evade her embarrassment.

  


And it didn’t leave her head for the whole day.  _ Oh my god, she probably thinks I’m a massive idiot. I’m so screwed. _ She scolded herself. She was currently tutoring some kids in the library for school credit. She didn’t necessarily enjoy pre-calculus but math came easy to her, so why not spend an hour once a week to get more exposure for her college resume? It’s not like she had anything better to do. 

  


“Uh, Shuhua-yah, how do I do this again?” A boy in her grade was asking her, Taeyong. 

  


Snapping back to reality, “You have to multiply both sides by 7 in order to cancel them out.”

  


“Oh, thanks.”

  


She sat absent-mindedly for the whole rest of their tutoring session. Popping in to help the boy she was tutoring for a bit before the bell rang and she started packing her things. 

  


“Shu, are you okay?” They were walking out together, onlookers staring at the two who looked like a couple. 

  


“Hmm? Yeah, just got a lot on my mind.” They walked closer together due to the sheer mass of students trying to squeeze through the hallways. 

  


“If it’s anything, you can always talk with me.” Was he… blushing? Now, she’s never told anyone besides Minnie and Yuqi that she liked girls, not like it was a secret, just that she sees herself screaming she was gay to the entirety of the school.

  


“Uh, sure.” She tried to hide the surprise in her voice.

  


Then, of all people, she spotted Soojin leaning back against her locker, staring at her. Well, it was more like she was glaring at Taeyong and her, eyes diverting once Shuhua caught her.  _ Is she jealous? Does she like Taeyong? _ She felt her face grow hot at the thought of Soojin looking at her. 

  


“Um, my rides here.” She quickly checks her phone to see a text from Wei saying he’s outside. “See you tomorrow,”

  


“Bye Shu,” he smiles and waves, Soojin’s glare returns making Shuhua’s soul leave her body as she continues out the school. 

  


___

  


Long after she left school, she was still thinking about Soojin. Those eyes, she looked like she wanted to rip her to shreds and not in the sexy way, like she literally wanted to kill her. It gave her goosebumps to think that someone she was so infatuated with could hate her so much.  _ We really are just on different levels, huh? _

  


Her situation didn’t get any better. It seemed every time she was seen with a boy, Soojin was there to glare at them.  _ Damn, does she have dibs on every single guy at CUBE? _ She spent the rest of the week actively avoiding her; she didn’t think she was mentally capable of being stared at like that. 

  


She was successfully doing so until she saw Soojin leaning against her locker after school. It was late, Shuhua had just finished her school play rehearsals that went until 5 pm. The sun was setting, the white pristine hallways were painted a deep orange hue and Soojin had her arms crossed, the same dangerous look on her features. 

  


_ Oh my god, am I about to get jumped? _ She was reevaluating all her life choices before her possible untimely death. Soojin had quite the… violent history. She would often pick fights with the school bullies when they teased the underclassmen too much. She was quite the social justice warrior, which only made Shuhua swoon harder. Not that Shuhua condoned violence, she hated it, but Soojin didn’t fight for the sake of fighting. Soojin normally got in trouble defending the underdogs, the picked on, which was admirable on its own.

  


“Yeh Shuhua,” Oh god, here it comes. She flinched when the girl muttered her name. 

  


“Listen, I swear Taeyong and I are just friends. I don’t like him like that, sorry if I intruded. I don’t even like guys so don’t worry, we’re just-”

  


“Huh?” Soojin’s expression softened as she cut the rambling drama member off. 

  


“I-I thought you liked Taeyong? Is that not why your here to kill me?”

  


“Kill you?” She laughed. Oh god, that laugh. “No, I just wanted to talk.”

  


“Oh,” Could she blame her though? If looks could kill, Shuhua would be dead. Soojin was wearing her usual look, tie undone this time with her sleeves pushed up. Shuhua was too much of a stickler for rules to dress like that, her tie fastened properly, plaid skirt all prim and freshly pressed, pairing with her school blazer. 

  


“I was wondering if you could help me with my literature classes.” She looked at the ground shyly. Never in her life did Shuhua imagine seeing a shy Soojin. 

  


“S-sure! I’ll have to check my schedule first though,” her hands were shaking, so she hid them behind her back. 

  


“Here, let’s exchange numbers so we can meet up.” Soojin pulled out her phone.

  


_ Huh? _ Was she dreaming? Was she dead now and this was heaven? Was Seo Soojin really asking for her number?

  


“Sure,” The two switched phones, Shuhua’s face red hot as she typed in her number. 

  


“So you’ll let me know, right?” Soojin looked up at her. 

  


“Y-yes, I’ll get back to you later tonight.” For some reason, she felt like she was on the verge of tears. 

  


“Kay, thanks by the way. I gotta go.” Soojin bid her farewell before leaving the building and Shuhua felt like she could finally breathe. 

  


_ Did that really just happen? No, I must be dreaming. _ She stared down at the contact in her phone the whole ride home. 

  


_ Seo Soojin _ . It read. 

  


“Everything alright?” Wei looked at her through the rearview mirror when they were stopped at a red light. “You look… tense.” 

  


“Just school,” she deflected.

  


“Really?” He raised his eyebrows, Shuhua never really stressed over school since she was a naturally hard worker. 

  


“No. There’s this girl I have a fat crush on and up until now I thought she wanted to kill me because I was seen with a boy I thought she liked. But it turns out she just wanted help with her class and waited for me until rehearsals were over to ask me for my number and I still don’t know if that really happened if Yuqi hit me over the head too hard.” She said all in 10 seconds. 

  


“That’s a lot to unpack,” he breathed out, running a hand through his hair and gripping the steering wheel again. “Do you think she likes girls?” Wei had a great way of connecting with her. He didn’t sound like a stoic old man, he was able to see from her point of view and offer advice from time to time. 

  


“I’ve never thought about that,” she sat. “I’ve been so caught up in just looking at her I never thought of us ever  _ dating. _ ” Shivers went down her spine just thinking about it. 

  


“Just be careful, some people aren’t as open-minded as we are.” He warned, only for her own good. Korea was conservative, but not as conservative as China. “I just want you to be safe.” He stressed. 

  


“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. Plus she’s  _ way _ out of my league.”

  


“Really? I thought you were pretty popular at school.”

  


“Being talked about and being popular are very different things, Wei.” She sighed, Shuhua hated school drama. Which was ironic because she was in the school drama club. “I think she genuinely needs help with her school work and just knows I tutor.”

  


“Whatever you say,” he turned the radio back up. 

  


That’s all that really was, right? She was laying in bed after having finished all her homework and going over her lines one last time before she got a message that nearly made her drop her phone. 

  


**Seo Soojin [7:45 pm]**

Have you found a day that works? 

  


(She quickly opened up her weekly calendar, checking for an appropriate day to tutor Soojin. She really didn’t know how this was going to go since she could barely function but she already said yes…)

  


**Yeh Shuhua [7:48 pm]**

Yeah, does tomorrow work?

**Seo Soojin [7:48 pm]**

Yea, tmr is perfect.

  


_ Perfect. _ She reread that word over a hundred times.  _ What does she mean by perfect? _ She tended to overthink things sometime, but why would someone describe a study session with the word  _ perfect? _ Was she simply referring to the time set being perfect? Or was she genuinely excited to study, study with her? 

  


_ Ugh, this is hurting my brain. _ She plugged in her phone and turned off the lights, pulling her thick blanket over her head.

  


___

  


“Unhand my wife!” Hongseok, a boy from her history class yelled dramatically.

  


“Cut,” Their screenwriter, Yeeun, interrupted. “Can you say it… more naturally? You sound robotic.” 

  


“Come on Yeeun! We’ve been doing this for an hour now!” He groaned.

  


“Well, I’m sorry you suck at acting! Seriously, everyone already has their lines down except you!” 

  


Oh, here they go again. Yeeun knew she shouldn’t have casted Hongseok but there wasn’t anyone else who wanted to play the drunkard. If he wasn’t so hot she would’ve already kicked him out. Besides Shuhua, the drama club was lacking a certain eye candy. Sure, they were great actors but high school kids didn’t care about good acting, they cared about hot people, just like the rest of the surface level sheeple that attended CUBE.

  


“Oh, I’ve actually got to go. I have to tutor someone in the library.”

  


“See ya Shu,” Hongseok stopped bickering with their director for a second to say goodbye. 

  


“Bye, Shuhua. Don’t forget to practice your lines!” Yeeun yelled after her as she scrambled out the door. 

  


Much to her surprise, Soojin was there before her. Not that she had a bad reputation, actually nevermind that Soojin actually did. Rumors of her arguing with the politically bigoted teachers and being sent to the principal’s officer surfaced during freshman year. Sometimes she’d be called in there for fighting some jocks that fat-shamed the 2nd years earned her black eye once. But there she was, sitting at the furthermost table in the back. 

  


“Sorry, I was caught up at rehearsals.” Her head hung low in order to hide her light blush, Soojin looked really cute today. 

  


“It’s okay, I just happened to come early. You’re in the drama club, huh?”  _ How the hell does she know _ ? Well, it’s not like it was a secret but just that not many people knew. But Soojin would’ve had to really pay attention to find that little piece of information. 

  


“Y-yeah, it kinda dragged on longer than it was supposed to.” She started unpacking her notes. “You said you were having trouble with literature?”

  


“Mmmm,” she hummed as an answer.

  


“Well, Korean isn’t my first language but I can help you.”

  


“That’s right,” Soojin began to chew on the back of her wooden pencil. “You’re from Taiwan right?”

  


“Yeah, we moved here for my dad’s work.” Her face getting impossibly hotter. For the longest time, she was unaware Soojin even knew she existed. “What did you need help with?”

  


“Just sentence structure,” she looked somewhat disappointed that their small talk was cut short to Shuhua’s persistence. 

  


“Here, I simplified it in my notes-” Then, Soojin did the worst possible thing she could’ve imagined. She leaned in so close Shuhua could smell her shampoo, her hair smelled like roses. 

  


“Oh, that makes way more sense.” Her eyes scanned over the pages, before pulling away after a couple seconds. Shuhua could finally breathe, hoping Soojin doesn’t notice how red her face was. 

  


The rest of their session went fairly smoothly, Soojin working by herself while Shuhua was there to answer any questions she had. Occasionally stopping to go off on tangents, talking about school life. She told Soojin about her upcoming play, she learned that Soojin wasn’t in any extracurriculars and invited her to opening night. 

  


Conversation with her was easy because she  _ listened _ . Soojin didn’t just nod off at everything she said as an attempt to get her number. If anything, it should’ve been the other way around. But the way she was looking at her, Shuhua felt seconds away from melting.

  


Maybe this was her whipped side coming out or maybe Soojin wasn’t the public villain her teachers painted her to be. This only made her realize two things. One, she really knew nothing about Soojin. And two, she didn’t stand a chance. Even if there was a small possibility that Soojin liked girls, that wasn’t a guarantee that she’d like  _ her. _

  


Hearing a ping on her phone, a message from Wei, telling her he was waiting outside. It was already late, she lost track of time staring at Soojin’s smile, a smile that was pointed directly at her this time. 

  


“Oh, my bad I didn’t realize the time.” She started packing up. “I’ve got somewhere to be,”

  


“Sorry for keeping you so long,” Soojin apologized. “Thanks for the help.” 

  


“Yeah, gotta go.” She left in a hurry, not catching Soojin’s lingering eyes. 

  


The only thing that could top the intensity of her obsession with Soojin was the desire to see her mom. She’d be stopping by to visit her at the hospital before her father’s business gala. The hospital always had a lasting impression on her, the ominous hallways and bright fluorescent lighting had been burned into her brain since she was young. 

  


Her mom’s smile so strongly contrasted the cold, empty looking room she was placed in. But that’s just who her mom was, the shining beacon of light in her life. When she rarely got to see her dad because of his hectic work schedule and didn’t have many friends, her mom was there. She was there to listen to her stories, practice lines with her, try her best to help her with her homework even though she learned this stuff ages ago, she stayed by her side. 

  


Shuhua felt guilty sometimes when she couldn’t visit her. Like she wasn’t trying hard enough for her mom, the one person who was there for her when she had very little. Still, her mom never pressured her to visit, she believed it was imperative that Shuhua lived a life of her own, not one bedridden like herself. 

  


“Mom?” She knocked on the corner of the opened door frame. 

  


“Ah! Shuhua-ya!” She saw her try to conceal the IV tube connected to her forearm but it was too late, Shuhua had already seen it. “I thought you had your father’s gala to get ready for?”

  


“Yeah, I just wanted to visit before. Feels like a long time since I’ve seen you.” She plopped down on the side of her hospital bed, letting her mom play with her long black hair. Hair that she promised she wouldn’t die or cut, her mom loved her hair. “What have you been up to?”

  


“Nothing much, your father sent me some magazines the other day so I’ve just been reading those.”

  


“He visited?” The topic of her now elusive father always piqued her interests.

  


“No, just dropped some stuff off. He’s a very busy man.”

  


“I know,” she whined, her mother caressing her head gave did her a little comfort.

  


“Go, it’s late. You probably have a full night ahead of you.” Her mom insisted.

  


“But you’re going to be here all alone,” she frowned. 

  


“Yeh Shuhua, you have a party your father expects you to be at. I’ll be fine, I’ve got my magazines. See?” She waved the flimsy paper material in her face with a reassuring smile. 

  


“Okay…”

  


“I’ll be here tomorrow, go. Have fun.” Her thin wrists laid back on her lap. She tried not to fixate on the sacrifices her mother’s illness made her make; having to miss half of her daughter’s childhood, locked up in her hospital bed. 

  


“Fine,” she gave up. “I’ll text you, okay?”

  


“Yes,” she bowed her head as Shuhua made her exit. 

  


___

  


She had been to about a million business parties by now, each one the same. The same tired looking waiters carrying trays of expensive champagne. The same filthy rich guests stinking up the dance floor, dressed in their Italian silk and leather suits. And the same fake laughs echoing throughout the huge venue. Except for this time, the party was being held in her house.

  


Usually, she’d beg Wei to take her home early with the same excuse, she had a stomach ache. But she couldn’t escape this time, this time she was forced to have 4 different adults every hour tell her how big she got. 

  


“Ah, Shuhua-yah! You’ve really matured!”

  


“Shuhua-ssi! You look just as beautiful as your mother! Hope she’s doing well!”

  


“Yeh Shuhua? I didn’t even notice you! You’ve truly grown a lot!” 

  


She still greeted every guest with a charming smile and the hospitality of an angel, despite how much she wanted to punch the next person that told her she looked just like her mom.  _ We’re related for a reason you idiot! _

  


Her dad was entertaining the guests with his wild stories of being first handed the reigns of the Yeh empire,  _ yawn _ . Shuhua just wanted to see Soojin. Even if she was going to die of embarrassment again, she wanted to see her. Even if she stood no chance with her, she just wanted to be around her. Soojin seemed to have a mutual interest in her too. Well, not really mutual… More like she was just friendly… But Shuhua still counted her small victories. 

  


And someone up there must’ve really been listening because there she was. Wearing a simple black dress, sandwiched in between two very professional looking people (presumably her parents) practically the embodiment of teenage awkwardness. 

  


“Soojin?” 

  


“Shuhua?”

  


This was going to be an interesting night. 

  



	2. Seo Soojin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the drama club, dangerously pretty, feigning innocence with every meaningful stare, Shuhua was the mystery Soojin felt she needed to crack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH this chapter took so long to write, I got stuck halfway through because I wasn't liking the slow pace. I feel like people don't like this series as much because it's so long so far. Hang in there, it about to get spicer I promise :') ngl the ratings so far have been affecting me, idk if I should continue with my original idea or drop a world of angst on you guys, leave your thoughts in my curious cat or the comments below. Enjoy

Soojin didn’t know what she was doing, asking this pretty girl everyone knew if she could tutor her. Yes, she did actually need help with English but in all honesty, she didn’t give a shit about her grades. It’s not like her parents cared anyways. 

They were never home, always working. Both her parents were surgeons, they met fatefully one night at a conference and decided that it was best if they settled down and had a kid. It only seemed natural, right? That’s what you were supposed to do when you came of age, the age where you’ve already lived out all your dreams and had nothing left but to forcibly push another being into the same world. 

From a young age, she knew she needed to grow up, there was no one around to baby her, raise her. Her parents had a lot of work, she understood, but how hard would it be to just have  _ one _ dinner with her? Not that hard, right? She spent all her life in an empty high rise, playing alone. Occasionally they’d all have to play pretend family and go to public events together but her parents didn’t know anything about her, what kind of person she was. 

At first, she was a quiet, shy girl, preferring to sit alone during lunch and read books by herself rather than play out on the playground with the other kids. But as time dragged on, she got angrier. It wasn’t fair, why couldn’t she see her parents? She began starting fights at school, as a cry for them to pay attention to her but it didn’t work. They simply just hired her a full staff, people that were trained to handle kids. That’s not what she wanted, she just wanted to see her dad, hug her mom, it wasn’t fair. 

Going into middle school, she made, arguably, one of her worst decisions. She befriended the known bullies. Slumming it with other spoiled rich girls alike, girls like Park Jimin. She saw all sides of ugly, how emotionally hurtful those girls could be. So moving into highschool she turned over a new leaf, trying to rebrand herself.

Maybe she thought that if she was fighting for the other side instead, it would help clear her guilty conscience. She started subtly defending the people she probably would’ve bullied in middle school. She educated herself on identity politics, progressive issues, and actually tried to be a good person. But there was always someone trying to blame her, so she laid back a bit after being caught in 2 major fights freshman year. Painted as the public enemy, the delinquent. 

Moving on for once in her life, she started embracing her wealth, even if her past self would’ve scolded her for being selfish, living in a dying world. No matter what she believed, she would always be the  bourgeois, materialistic, capitalistic, like everyone else that went to CUBE. Perhaps it was the more cynical side of herself, but she became a tragic misanthrope. 

She hated herself, her airhead friends, her parents for doing this to her. Out of all the different sperm cells penetrating her mom’s egg, why did it have to be her? She just wasted her life and her parent’s money, spending it on booze and girls. Why did she have to be born? Why not someone else? Someone who would probably cure cancer, not her miserable self. 

Humankind was beyond saving. If living as a Seo had taught her anything, it was to take what was meant to be taken. So she indulged in her rather fat bank account, buying expensive clothes, hanging out with the CUBE elitists, the seniors. 

Staying out late, going to parties, drinking, these were normal occurrences to her by now. Why not just live like the villain everyone thought she was? Sophomore year she was always late to class, hanging out with her friends, rarely doing her homework, she didn’t care. Nothing made her feel anymore, not her parents being gone for x amount days, not the 10th shot of vodka HyunAh was handing her, not the pretty woman eyeing her at the bar, nothing. 

She was running a bit late to school today, speeding it in her expensive car that she forgot the name of. And only when she finally sat down in class did she feel a pair of eyes on her. 

A girl.

She had pretty long black hair and a solemn expression on her face as she pretended to look away once she was caught.

_ Ha, cute… Huh? _ What? What was this? This weird tingling in her chest, it was like she was buzzed. Her heart pounded loud in her ears and her face grew hot. Was she on drugs? No, Soojin did many things, but she didn’t dare touch drugs. Why was one stare affecting her so much? Sure, the girl was pretty, but Soojin had seen plenty of pretty people at the club before. Shaking her head in denial. 

Who even was this girl?

“Hey, Hyun?”

“Hmm,” her friend was unbothered, scrolling through her phone.

“Who’s Yeh Suhua?” She went buy to read the golden engraved name on her desk after the bell dismissed them.

“Yeh Shuhua?” HyunAh finally looked up from her phone and stared her dead in the eye. “Why do you need to know about Yeh Shuhua?”

“Well, like who is she?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I don’t know? I just do.” She was getting red in the face, maybe if she just kept her mouth shut HyunAh wouldn’t be looking at her suspiciously. 

“Ooooo, does someone have a crush? A crush on the prettiest girl in her grade?” HyunAh teased, pinching one of her cheeks.

Slapping her hand away, “Aish, I don’t have a crush. I was just curious.” 

“Yeh Shuhua? Hmm let me see,” she furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought. “I know she’s from Taiwan, royalty basically.  _ Super _ rich, pretty, but I’m sure you noticed that.” she grinned devilishly.

“Shut up-”

“She’s in the school drama club, stupid good at acting. Hongseok told me, they’re having a play soon.” HyunAh knew a lot about her, listing things off on her fingers. “Has only two friends, some Thai girl and another Chinese one. No one really know’s Shuhua but they all drool over her.”

“Hmmm, is that so?” Mentally taking notes. Now she was suddenly very interested in the topic of Yeh Shuhua or interested in Yeh Shuhua herself.

“Do you think she likes girls?” HyunAh gushed at the idea of Soojin finally dating someone. 

“I doubt it,” she scoffed. 

“Well, you’ll never know for sure unless you ask.” She gave her younger friend a suggestive look. “Who knows, maybe Yeh Shuhua will be the first girl to melt Seo Soojin’s ice heart.”

“Excuse me, I don’t have an ice heart.” She slapped the older girl’s arm, making the latter laugh. “And besides, I caught  _ her _ staring at  _ me _ .” She emphasized for clarification. 

“Ooo, hotshot Seo back at it again, huh?” She continued to tease. “When was your first kiss again? Oh right! Drunk off hard lemonade at my 17th-”

“Shhhhh!” She held a hand over her mouth just to shut her up. 

“Hey, guys?” Dawn was standing behind them, looking confused at their display. 

“Dawnnie!” HyunAh ran into his arms. 

“Gross,” Soojin rolled her eyes at the cute couple. 

“You’re just jealous this isn’t you and Shuhua.” 

“Shuhua?” Dawn said, muffled in between HyunAh’s tight hug. “You like Yeh Shuhua?”

“I  _ do not _ like her. HyunAh’s just mental.” She corrected, arms crossed.

“Aw look at her, she’s in love.” 

“I’m not in love!” She screamed rather loudly before storming off to her locker. 

Why was this bothering her so much? Was it the idea of someone finally being interested in her? No one really had a crush on her, she was an untouchable. She hung out with popular kids, wore expensive clothing, and had looks that could kill, people held her on a pedestal. They  _ did not _ dare confess to her unless they wanted a broken nose, that is. 

And of course, Shuhua had to be within her range of sight as she walked to get her books. Now Soojin was no coward, she was quite bold when it came to the matters of her heart, which were rare occurrences. 

“Um, excuse me.” She tapped on her shoulder.  _ So small. _ She thought to herself. “You left your locker open.”

“Huh?” Oh god, Shuhua was even prettier up close. Her big doe eyes looked up at her and made her melt internally. 

“I said, your locker is still open.” Soojin tried not to let it affect her. She pointed behind her, gesturing to her green locker that’s door was opened a crack. 

“T-thank you,” she said before slamming it close and sprinting away. 

_ Am I really that horrible? Does my breath smell? Is there something on my face? _ She checked her reflection in her tiny Gucci pocket mirror, eyes searching for the reason that quite literally scared Shuhua away. 

Her mind didn’t let up, every waking moment she thought about Shuhua. Her eyes were printed behind her eyelids when she went to bed. The girl’s serious expression always at the forefront of her mind when she got up in the morning. 

It only got worse when Soojin would see guys shamelessly flirt with her. Take Taeyong for example, he was practically all up on her in the hallway. She made sure to shoot him a death glare that made him shink 3 sizes. But it wasn’t just him, every guy in their grade was drooling over Shuhua, who was obviously uncomfortable with the interactions. This only made the ugly jealous side of her come out, every guy that Shuhua was seen with only made her want her more. 

Putting an end to this mental torture, she decided to make the first move. 

“Yeh Shuhua,” she didn’t mean to sound as threatening as she lead on. Whoops.

“Listen, I swear Taeyong and I are just friends. I don’t like him like that, sorry if I intruded. I don’t even like guys so don’t worry, we’re just-”

What was she going on about?

“Huh?” Soojin’s expression softened as she cut the rambling drama member off. 

“I-I thought you liked Taeyong? Is that not why your here to kill me?”

“Kill you?” She laughed.  _ Ew, me and Taeyong? _ Never in a million years would she ever date a boy, let alone Taeyong. “No, I just wanted to talk.”

“Oh,” 

“I was wondering if you could help me with my literature classes.” She looked at the ground shyly, having lost her apparent confidence. 

“S-sure! I’ll have to check my schedule first though,” she said in a rather chipper tone. 

“Here, let’s exchange numbers so we can meet up.” Soojin pulled out her phone, trying so hard not to break a nervous sweat.

“Sure,” The two switched phones, Shuhua had a newer phone model than her, one that hadn’t even come out yet. 

“So you’ll let me know, right?” Soojin looked up at her, hopefully. 

“Y-yes, I’ll get back to you later tonight.” Her response sounded promising, letting Soojin finally breathe. 

“Kay, thanks by the way. I gotta go.” Soojin might as well just leave now, while her sanity was still intact. She had a long night of being alone ahead of her.

There  _ must’ve _ been some mutual attraction going on, she thought. Why else would Shuhua so readily say yes to tutor someone she never talked to? Was she afraid Soojin was going to hurt her? Probably.

___

Her house was big, too big considering she was basically the only one living in it. A spacious penthouse equipped with expensive-looking minimal furniture that remained untouched by anyone. For a place meant for humans to roam, a place meant to be natural and warming, it was everything but that. It was dark, cold, and for the most part, empty. She hated it. She hated her stupid room, devoid of anything that resembled her childhood, wiped clean of any traces of her. The only thing identifying it as her’s being the clothes in her walk-in closet and the characteristic messy sheets that she never bothered to tidy. What was the point in making anything hers? Not when the cleaning lady rearranged everything back to the way it was by the end of the week.

Brandishing a glass of scotch in her living room, Soojin was bored. All her friends were getting wasted at some club right now, one that she did not want to be at. Getting hammered and having a head-splitting hangover on a Thursday didn’t sound very fun, so she opted on staying home. There wasn’t really anything that she could do: she could sit in front of her 90-inch tv and watch reruns of bad kdrama, she could drink until she passes out but she already came to the conclusions that she doesn’t want a hangover, or she could woman up and message Shuhua first. 

Nothing serious since she hid her interests under the guise that she needed school tutoring and Shuhua just so happened to agree. But Soojin had an idea that things were going to change between them for the good; she was going to try her best to let Shuhua know she was interested. In her defense, English literature was the  _ gayest  _ subject (don’t ask her why or how she thought of that) she wanted Shuhua to know she was interested in her without  _ saying _ it. 

Pigs will fly the day Soojin tells someone about her true feelings. Never in a million years did she even imagine liking someone in high school but here she was, cheesing it over the one and only Yeh Shuhua. Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Soojin still barely knew anything about her. Not like she was the most interesting person in the world herself but Soojin didn’t want to date a brick wall and from what HyunAh’s told her so far and judging by the looks of it, Shuhua seemed pretty interesting. 

In the drama club, dangerously pretty, feigning innocence with every meaningful stare, Shuhua was the mystery Soojin felt she needed to crack. She was also surprised to learn the girl only had two friends, two loud ones at that. As surprising as it was, Shuhua was a very selective individual as Soojin noticed. Shuhua only surrounded herself with people with like interests in school, she didn’t befriend any stoners, class clowns, or jocks, even the boys she knew were all scholarly in their own merit. Maybe Soojin needed to up her game. 

If felt odd though, scheming over a girl that probably won’t even like her back. Listen, Soojin was no low maintenance girl, she is always needy for attention, has occasional mood swings, and can be a bitch, but everyone deserved a shot at love. Love or like, she made sure not to mix those two up but it became increasingly hard not too since she’s never experienced either. 

_ Why is everything so complicated? _

Never in her 16 years of living did she want a relationship, so why did she want one now? 

_ Ah, who gives a fuck? _ She opened up her phone, finger hovering over the little blue message button in Shuhua’s contact

**Seo Soojin [7:45 pm]**

Have you found a day that works? 

(She didn’t want to sound pushy but Shuhua did say she’d get back to her later today. Maybe she forgot?)

**Yeh Shuhua [7:48 pm]**

Yeah, does tomorrow work?

**Seo Soojin [7:48 pm]**

Yea, tmr is perfect.

She tried to suppress the fluttering feeling in her stomach when she reread Shuhua’s message. This was the universe giving her an opportunity, one she should try not to fuck up. 

_ Breathe, just…play it cool, okay? You can do that, right? Yeah, just play it cool Soojin. _ She calmed herself down, setting her scotch glass aside, getting ready for bed. 

___

For once in her life, she was early. Seeing Seo Soojin sitting in the library on a Friday was a rare sight, even seeing her  _ in _ the library was rare. Oh, the things she’d do for Yeh Shuhua…

“Sorry, I was caught up at rehearsals.” Shuhua piped in, having just gotten to their little secluded table. 

“It’s okay, I just happened to come early. You’re in the drama club, huh?” She took this as a chance to use the information HyunAh shared with her. 

“Y-yeah, it kinda dragged on longer than it was supposed to.” She started unpacking her notes. “You said you were having trouble with literature?”

“Mmmm,” she hummed as an answer. Trying her hardest to relay the messages that she didn’t really come to study. Soojin just wanted to get to know Shuhua a bit better, so her mind could stop harassing her with thoughts of the Taiwanese beauty. 

“Well, Korean isn’t my first language but I can help you.” She modestly replied.

“That’s right,” Soojin began to chew on the back of her wooden pencil. Maybe if she loosened up a bit Shuhua would warm up to her. “You’re from Taiwan right?”

“Yeah, we moved here for my dad’s work.” She still looked somewhat uncomfortable. “What did you need help with?”

“Just sentence structure,” she looked somewhat disappointed that their small talk was cut short to Shuhua’s persistence. But then again, she really sucked at English and the extra help was warranted. 

“Here, I simplified it in my notes-” In an attempt to up the anty, Soojin played a bold move. She leaned in rather close to Shuhua’s side, making it look like she was coming in closer to see what was written on the paper. She always did have poor eyesight. 

“Oh, that makes way more sense.” Her eyes scanned over the pages, before pulling away after a couple of seconds. Smirking at Shuhua’s frazzled appearance, there was no way she was not not into her. Right?

Going through the rest of their review after that, Shuhua was a surprisingly good teacher. She never outright called Soojin stupid--even though she was when it came to this topic--and always took her time carefully explaining certain lessons. Every now and then Soojin would ask her questions about herself, share a bit, just to make everything seem more natural. 

Shuhua wasn’t the quiet girl she thought she was, she actually talked a lot, in a good way of course. The way her eyes lit up when she asked her about her role in the school play, the fire burning behind her eyes as she dissected her own acting performances. 

_ Cute. _

Everything about her was so  _ cute _ . Her charming Taiwanese accent, her small smile, the way her eyebrows furrowed when she was concentrating, Soojin was done for.

“Oh, my bad I didn’t realize the time.” Shuhua’s phone went off, interrupting them. “I’ve got somewhere to be,”

“Sorry for keeping you so long,” Soojin apologized. As much as she wanted to keep Shuhua all to herself, she’s sure she has more important things to do. “Thanks for the help.” 

“Yeah, gotta go.” Soojin watched Shuhua exit their table, dressed all prim and proper in her pristine CUBE uniform.

The more she thought about it, the more it became noticeable to her. She and Shuhua were  _ very  _ different, yet she was still drawn to her. It didn’t matter that Soojin didn’t know squat about theatre or acting, she gave Shuhua her undivided attention when she was speaking. It didn’t matter that she knew she wasn’t good enough for Shuhua, she still wanted to pursue her. And it didn’t matter that there was a huge chance Shuhua would eventually turn her down, she’d still be thinking about her. If she ever managed to pull this off, the results would be huge. The result would be Shuhua. 

___

  
  


Throwing her car keys into a ceramic dish near the door, Soojin kicked off her shoes. She was looking forward to another night of emptiness. But no, she came home to both her parents talking on the kitchen island. 

Her father was a tall, lean man, the sides of his hair greying with all the restless nights he’s spent at the hospital. Seo Hyeon, a silver fox. His wrist adorned with an expensive Rolex that costs more than a small apartment--most likely. 

Her mother was a very beautiful woman, with the same charming mole under her left eye and red lipstick that highlighted her features. Shorter than her, but just as lethal; Seo Miyoung didn’t look a day over 29--even with her high-stress work environment. 

“Soojin-ah, get ready. We’re going to an event shortly.” Her mother informed her rather frankly. 

There was no point in arguing--it would only make things harder. So she went to her room, seeing a formal black dress laid out on her bed with a note that read: “Soojin”. Her mother had an affinity for black dresses; she bought her one for every occasion, even in the spring. This one was short, but not too short for a public even, a cute lace lines the ends of the silk fabric. The Seos loved black and Soojin hated dresses--but it wasn’t like she had a lot of other options. 

This was one of the rare occasions where the Seos had to pretend to be a family. They all loaded into their chauffeured car--Soojin didn’t even ask where they were going. It didn’t matter, either way, she was going to have fake smile the entire night and pretend to be the perfect daughter. 

“Soojin-ah, how are your studies going?” Her dad asked to fill the silence. He didn’t care, it’s not like he wanted her to become a doctor, carry on his  _ “legacy” _ . 

“Good,” she lied. With little recognition from her parents, it didn’t really matter what she did.; Soojin would probably have job options for her for who her parents were. The sick cycle of the inheritance of wealth disproportionately affecting society; where the rich didn’t have to lift a finger and the poor could barely afford health care. 

“The Yehs have a daughter, befriend her Soojin-ah.” Her mother ordered, looking back at her through the rearview mirror after reapplying her lipstick. “The Yehs are very important people, we want to be on good terms with them.”

_ The Yehs. _ In short, Shuhua’s family. Maybe this night wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

Another reason why rich people had kids, to strengthen business relationships. Her parents were trying to pull in wealthy donors to fund their research branch at the hospital. And although the research would universally benefit the sick, the way they had to basically manipulate patrons to give to them was still sinister. 

“Yes, umma.” That word felt odd coming out of her mouth, she would never relate that name with her actual mother. Miyoung was less of a parental figure and more of biological proof that she really existed, that this wasn’t some twisted simulation--too bad. 

The Yeh’s manor was massive. A modern built mansion with rustic, traditional Korean architecture points, it was nice. Butlers greeting them at the door, taking their coats, and offering them a wide variety of platters. Inside there were people who emanated rich energy, all sipping on alcoholic drinks that Soojin envied, talking nothing but business. 

Much to her chagrin, her parents stood on either side of her. She hated it when they did this; almost as if they were  _ trying _ to appear as a family because they definitely didn’t know what a real one felt like. 

She saw her.

Yeh Shuhua, wearing an off the shoulder dress that highlighted her milky skin, heels that made them leveled height, and makeup that nearly made her drool, she was floored. 

“Soojin?”

“Shuhua.” She detached herself from her parents, taking a step forward. 

“I-I didn’t know you were going to be here,”

“Neither did I,” watching her parents depart off into the crowd and grabbing a passing champagne glass--she was going to need the extra liquid courage. “Nice dress,” she tried her best in flirting, eyeing the girl in front of her up and down with a lethal stare.

“Thank y-you,” she gulped. 

“Oh, there you are Shu,” a girl said from behind them.

Minnie  Yontararak, dressed in a black pantsuit. One of the only friends Shuhua had. Of course she’d be here, her dad owned half the properties in Seoul alone. 

“Well, it was nice talking to you,” she leaned forward, whispering seductively into Shuhua’s ear--she smelled like roses. 

“Y-you too,” Shuhua was practically shaking at this point. 

_ Nice, Seo. _ She replaced her empty glass with a new one, strutting away from the girl and her friend. 

The entire night Shuhua’s eyes were glued on her. Like a silent stalemate, the two were aware of the other, exchanging glances every now and then from across the room. Deep into her sixth glass by now--the alcohol didn’t affect her much--if anything, it made her more immersed in this little game they had going on. Every now and then Minnie or Yuqi would engage in conversation with Shuhua, and she could truly see the effect she had on the Taiwanese girl; watching as her face glowed red when she sensed eyes on her. 

Tired of playing this drawn-out game, Soojin thought it was about time for a victory, exiting out to the garden. And surely enough, Shuhua followed.  _ I’ve got you in the palm of my hand, Yeh Shuhua. _ When in reality, it was Shuhua who held all the power, making Soojin feel this way. 

“It’s a little cold to be out, don’t you think?” Turning around to see Shuhua standing behind her shyly. 

The garden was dark, save for a few strung lights hanging on the large maze-like hedges that protected them from the rest of the party. It was brisk outside but Soojin had never felt so hot, her heart was pounding in her throat, feeling extra daring at this time. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” she returned, looking off to the side, refusing to make eye contact with the girl staring lasers into her being. 

Taking a step closer and pulling Shuhua’s gaze up with a single finger, “Seems someone couldn’t take their eyes off me the entire night.”

“Well, how could it when you’re dressed like that.” She admitted in a low tone. 

Moving impossibly closer, “Is that what you thought when you were tutoring me?” Soojin knew a fine line between teasing and torture, so well that she tight rope walked it every time she talked to her. 

Then Shuhua did something Soojin never imagined she’d do.

Playing this game the most she thought she’d get out of it was a few scares, but Shuhua meant business apparently. 

She  _ kissed  _ her. 

Lips pressed on hers, Soojin’s finger moved from her chin to cup her face. Tilting her head to get a better angle. Maybe it was the booze finally getting to her, but she slipped her tongue in. Warming her entire body, she felt like her skin was on fire

After a few seconds lip-locked, Shuhua pulled away for a breath of air. Watching her breathless almost made her melt.

_ Well shit. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to follow me on [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/akuma__jpg) I post chapter updates :)
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**Author's Note:**

> helloooooooooo this chapter was... really long and a headache to edit. I'm still looking for a test reader for this series and future fics. If you don't know what that is: A test reader is someone who will have early access to my chapters before I edit or post them. Their job would be to read them and give me honest feedback on what I could improve on in terms of plot elements. DM me on [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/akuma__jpg) if you're interested. The only requirement would be that you have some literary background or are just very interested in this field area :)
> 
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